Buying at Auction

We want to make bidding for items at Clevedon Salerooms a simple and enjoyable experience.Our friendly and experienced staff are there to help with any query you may have.

Buyer’s Premium and the final price you pay

All purchases are subject to a buyer’ s premium of 20% plus VAT(except books where VAT is not applicable).The price you pay will be the hammer price announced by the auctioneer just before the fall of the gavel, plus the buyer’s premium.If you bid through a third party online platformthere is an additional % on the hammer price.

An item with a hammer price of £100

With buyer’s premium of 20% plus VAT totals £124

Artists Resale Right(ARR)

Introduced as a European Union directive in 2006 to ensure artists receive a royalty on the sale of qualifying works , payable to living and deceased artists over the last seventy year period.Qualifying works are marked AR in the catalogue, and in the event that they sell for between Euro 1,000 -Euro 50,000 are then subject to an additional charge of 4% on the hammer price. (Descending scale thereafter).This amount is added to the purchasers invoice, and forwarded to a collecting agency acting for the artist or their estate.

Conditions of Sale

Click here to read our Conditions of Sale. Buying at auction offers consumers a different level of protection than purchasing items on the high street and consumers do not have the same rights as in the normal retail environment. It is our aim to have bidders that are happy with all of their purchases and whilst we strive to achieve this, bidders have to play their part and make all their enquiries about an item BEFORE bidding. Refunds are only made in limited circumstances in accordance with our Conditions of Sale, professional association guidelines and ultimately UK auction law.

Our Conditions of Sale are the contractual basis for the relationship between Vendor, Auctioneer and Buyer and all parties agree to be bound by the terms contained therein.

By signing up to the Auction Alerts email service you will receive an email alert each time we upload the fully illustrated on-line sale catalogue.(Essentially one email each fortnight).We do not share your email details with any third party and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Free Lot Alert service

Register with our website to receive free Lot Alerts tailored to keywords chosen by you according to your interest so that you will only hear from us when we have items that are of interest to you.Your search criteria can be modified and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Viewing days

These days provide bidders the opportunity to examine the lots in person and satisfy themselves regarding the condition of those lots.Viewing times for each sale are shown in the catalogue for each sale and the Sale Calendar.Our friendly and experienced viewing staff are on hand to answer any questions.

Condition Reports

At Clevedon Salerooms we want all bidders to be happy with their purchases.Every lot sold by Clevedon Salerooms is by definition second-hand and therefore may be subject to varying degrees of wear and tear.

We strongly recommend potential bidders gather as much information about a lot prior to bidding for it.

In the days leading upto our regular Antique & Interiors sales we have members of staff dedicated to preparing condition reports and sending additional images as requested by potential bidders.Bidders are invited to request this information so they can be certain they are making an informed decision when it comes to bidding.There is no charge for this service so please take advantage of it.The online version of the Quarterly Specialist Sale Catalogue has pre-prepared condition reports and additional images of each lot available at least ten days prior to the sale.

How to bid

In Person

The first time you wish to bid at Clevedon Salerooms you will need to register your details: name, address, email and telephone number with the front desk to obtain your bidding number. This number remains the same at subsequent auctions.Make sure the auctioneer can see when you are bidding, ideally by raising or waving your bidding number.Remember to return your number once you have finished bidding.

Absentee bidding (commission bid)

This service is available when you do not wish to attend the sale or may not be able to stay to the end of a sale, and we bid on your behalf, attempting to purchase the lot for the lowest price subject to other bids and any reserve price.When a lot is sold and the auctioneer announces “commission buyer” this denotes an absentee bidder is the successful purchaser.Absentee bid forms are available in the Saleroom and can be left with us during the viewing (and during the sale prior to being offered).You can also email bids to us direct from the catalogue on our website.Absentee Bids placed through a third party online platform usually incur an additional% fee on the hammer price.Avoid this fee by placing bids direct with us.

Live Internet bidding

Live internet bidding allows you to bid from home, the office or wherever you have an internet connection.You must register before the sale at www.the-saleroom.com and be approved to bid. This service incurs an additional 4.95% plus VAT charge on the hammer price of lots, which we collect on behalf of the bidding platform. You may simply watch the Sale on-line even if you are not intending to bid.

Telephone Bidding – Quarterly Sales only

Increasingly superseded by internet bidding, this free service is where by prior arrangement, a member of our staff telephones you a few lots prior to the lot you wish to bid on, and the staff member actions your bids as if you were in the room. Telephone bids must be arranged with the Salerooms no later than 5pm the day before the sale and are only for lots with a lower estimate of £100 or more and are subject to availability.

Sale Results

Results are uploaded to our website every 30 minutes during the sale enabling youto see if you are successful. All successful purchasers are emailed an invoice at the end of the sale. In the event of two identical absentee bid amounts being left the first bid received will be the successful buyer.

Methods of payment

Payments can be made via our on-line payment portal, as well as in cash, debit card, bank transfer and face to face credit card.Remote credit card payments will not be accepted. Payment is due by 5pm the day after the sale.

All invoices emailed to successful purchasers have our bank details for BACS payment.

N.B. £1,000 limit on credit card purchases, balance by other means.Cheques will only be accepted where the purchaser is well known to the auctioneers.

Collecting purchases

Bidders must collect items before 5pm the day after the sale.In special circumstances and only by prior arrangement with the auctioneers exceptions may be granted.

We are open for payments & collection the day after a sale 9am – 5.30pm. Normal weekday opening hours for collecting purchases are 9am- 1pm & 2pm-5.30pm.We do not open at weekends